Hordes of Lawyers
Two
interesting bits of information converged this weekend to make
the HR Doctor sit in his comfortable home office and
contemplate the impact of lawyers on our society and, more
specifically, on the practice of public
administration.
Before
you read any further, however, please pay special attention to
the following warning: Reading the rest of this article does
not imply in any way that you, the reader (or for that matter,
the author), have any opinions whatsoever adverse to the
practice of law or to the personal characteristics or working
habits of any members of the bar. Further, this article should
only be shared with public or private sector attorneys who are
personally known to you and approved by you to read words,
which some may consider to be controversial.
Do you
accept the conditions outlined in the above warning? If so,
you may read on. If not, then please stop reading immediately
and move on with your life.
The
first of these two converging events was the announcement of
the annual awards for wacky warning labels. This is an award
sponsored annually for the past decade by
a Michigan
lawsuit abuse watch group, (www.mlaw.org). Some of the
absolute best are bullet-pointed below. Truly, these warning
labels are only samples of the effects on our lives of the
legal profession over-dosing on itself!
But
first, please pay careful attention to the following notice.
Notice and warning to readers: The word bullet in the
sentence above is not in any way meant to suggest, support,
condone or encourage violence, threats of violence or gun
control in violation of the Second Amendment of the United
States Constitution.
Wacky warnings
winners
-
A
label on a baby stroller warns: Remove child before
folding.
-
A
popular scooter for children warns: This product moves when
used.
-
A
brass fishing lure with a three pronged hook on the end
warns: Harmful if swallowed.
-
A
flushable toilet brush warns: Do not use for personal
hygiene.
-
A
household iron warns users: Never iron clothes while they
are being worn.
-
A
label on a hairdryer reads: Never use hairdryer while
sleeping.
-
A
warning on a carpenters electric drill cautions: This
product not intended for use as a dental
drill.
-
The label on a bottle of drain
cleaner warns: If you do not understand or cannot read all
directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this
product.
-
A
can of self-defense pepper spray warns users: May irritate
eyes.
-
A
popular manufactured fireplace logs warns: Caution risk
of fire.
-
A
cartridge for a laser printer warns: Do not eat
toner.
A
Chinese-American writer of a generation ago, Lin Yutang, is
quoted as having said when there are too many policemen,
there can be no liberty. When there are too many soldiers,
there can be no peace. When there are too many lawyers, there
can be no justice.
Are
there too many lawyers? You are invited to read on, after
reviewing the following: Note and warning to readers: The
following comments do not in any way suggest that any current
or potential future law student or any current practicing
attorney or student who has graduated from law school but has
not yet passed the bar exam, should in any way give up their
ambitions, hopes, dreams or other emotional ties to the
practice of law as they believe it to exist in the year
2007.
This
morning began for the HR Doctor, after the completion of
the dog walk, with a visit to the BBC News. Perhaps that would
be wonderful exercise for anyone contemplating entering a
career in the law or for law school faculty members. There is
worldwide mocking and derision in progress about
Americas
fascination with lawyers. We have more lawyers than we have
fire fighters, although I know that the International
Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is working hard to change
that in jurisdictions throughout
America.
There
are roughly 1 million lawyers
in America,
which is also a larger number than members of the clergy,
i.e., about 403,000 and, indeed an even larger number than
Americas
estimated 500,110 elected officials.
The
Web site, www.power-of-attorneys.com, provides
interesting information to put this lawyer population
expansion into a more helpful or is it harmful?
context.
America,
with 5 percent of the worlds population, has 70 percent of
the worlds lawyers. There are 30 times more lawsuits
in America
than in
Japan.
It may well be true that lawyers everywhere else in the world,
if they were counted, might not match the level of attorney
presence in the United
States. The membership of the
last Congress, not surprisingly, consisted of 196 attorneys,
but sadly, only three members who admitted to being human
resource professionals. Lawyers domination of the legislative
branch of government is perhaps matched by the fact that more
than two-thirds of the 43 American presidents have also been
lawyers.
Remembering that there are three
branches to the federal government in the
United
States (a gentle reminder for
those whose high schools no longer offer civics courses), it
is reasonable to suppose that the third branch, the Judiciary,
is also dominated by attorneys.
The
result is that the federal government itself offers safe haven
for hordes of attorney-boat people, scrambling to find
security in the promised land of
America.
The
number of attorneys and the connection to lawsuit-happy
America,
complete with its resulting warning labels, gives rise to
concerns about the impact of litigation on our ability to
innovate, take reasonable public policy risks, and, therefore,
focus on the future with curiosity and willingness to
experiment.
The HR
Doctor, who numbers many attorneys among his friends
(seriously), invites you to consider for yourself whether it
is possible to create visions of the future, which are
compelling and offer hope for a better world, when those
visions cannot become reality without surviving a gauntlet of
threats of litigation, actual litigation, administrative law
challenges, and the occasional threatening and annoying letter
we have all received from members of the bar.
Although there is considerable truth in
the quote from Lin Yutang, it is certainly also true that a
nation of laws and a nation of equity requires a
well-developed legal system and a well-educated
population.
However, does it take a million
attorneys to achieve that end? Not a bad subject for inclusion
in law school curricula itself or for consideration when the
next set of laws, rules, regulations, etc. are in the drafting
stage.
Perhaps a new Affirmative Action
program should be instituted in
America
requiring equal or certainly improved representation of
non-lawyers in preparation of laws, the administration of
legal systems or the development of public policy.
I
certainly hope that this article in no way affects my upcoming
dinner with my wonderful legal colleagues in municipal
government Jaime Cole and Doug Gonzales!
The HR
Doctor hopes that all of your warning labels are removed only
by the consumer!
Phil
Rosenberg
The HR
Doctor http://www.hrdr.net/
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